A Massage for My Rival
by Foxboy614
Summary: Rouge went to Angel Island to steal the Master Emerald. However, when she hears Knuckles has been feeling tense, she changes her plans and decides to pay Knuckles a visit to massage him and spend some alone time with him. Knuxouge one-shot. Rated T just to be safe. I OWN NOTHING!


**As usual, I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or its characters, nor do I wish to gain any monetary value from this.  
I've done Taicks and Sonamy, so now it's Knuxouge's turn. I like this pairing because of the romantic tension between these two. I also find this couple to be cute and pretty funny. I love how Rouge loves to tease Knuckles.**

Another day, another effort for Rouge to steal the Master Emerald for herself. She's tried many times to steal it, and today is no different. But with each time she fails, she gets that much more determined to get it.  
"I know I haven't had much luck getting it, but I feel confident about today." she told herself.

Soon, she made it to Angel Island and caught sight of the glowing Master Emerald. But oddly enough, it's guardian, Knuckles, was no where to be seen. Rouge was taken back; Knuckles is virtually ALWAYS guarding the Master Emerald, taking it to almost unhealthy levels. And now, the Emerald just stood there; unguarded and unprotected. Rouge was actually concerned. If Knuckles isn't guarding the Master Emerald, chances are something's wrong.  
 _"Where is he?"_ she thought. She flew around, trying to find something that she thought Knuckles would live in. A house, a hut… a tent… ANYTHING. Eventually though, no luck.

Rouge sat at the top of the altar and crossed her legs. This was driving her crazy. Knuckles couldn't be found anywhere. She couldn't even find his home!  
"Where could he be?" she wonder out loud. As she was pondering where the red echidna could be, a red wisp flew by her. Rouge noticed it and looked at it in confusion. She'd heard Sonic talk about it once before. But before she had time to say anything, there was a flash of light, revealing an orange echidna with blue eyes, bands on her dreadlocks, a peach muzzle, a gold necklace, a white top that left a sliver of her belly exposed, gold bracelets, a green skirt with white and orange tribal patterns, and sandals.

"Hello there." the echidna greeted politely.  
"Hello." Rouge greeted back. "Who are you?"  
"My name is Tikal." she replied. "You must be Rouge. I've heard Knuckles talk about you."  
"What has he said about me?" Rouge asked, getting a bit touchy and placing her hands on her hips.  
"Mixed things; he talks about how you frustrate him because you try to steal the Master Emerald and that he wants to strangle your neck." Tikal answered. "But THEN, he talks about how gorgeous you are, how he wished he didn't have to guard the Emerald all the time, and that he wants to kiss you so badly and-" she stopped, blushing bright red when she realized she said too much.  
Rouge smiled and shook her head. "So what you're saying is; one minute he wants to strangle me, but the next he wants to kiss me?" Tikal nodded her head. "I see. Well, don't worry; I won't tell Knuckles you told me about how he feels about me." Tikal smiled and let out a sigh of relief.

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Rouge asked, sounding concerned for the stubborn echidna.  
"He's at home; he's been really sore lately. I told him I'd guard the Master Emerald until he gets better." Tikal answered.  
"What's wrong?" Rouge asked.  
"He said his muscles have been feeling really bad recently." Tikal told her. "I tried to help him, but I didn't have much luck." Rouge thought about it for a bit, trying to find a way to help Knuckles. But it wasn't long though; when she heard Knuckles' muscles have been feeling bad, Rouge thought he was feeling tense. So maybe a massage would do him good.

The mere thought of Rouge giving Knuckles a massage made her face go as red as Knuckles' fur. While she'd never say it out loud, she's fallen for the guardian. True, he was hard-headed and could be very touchy at points, but she felt it was justified when the Master Emerald was involved. Since he's the last of his kind, he needs to protect it with his life. But at the same time, she wishes he would lighten up some more and have some fun. She has, however, seen times when he'll loosen up and have fun with the rest of the guys, and she has seen that there's a caring side to him. But still, the thought of dating Knuckles both enticed and scared Rouge; she feared the temptation to steal the Emerald would overcome her, and she'd steal the Emerald, essentially ruining her chances with him.

"Do you think I could help him out?" Rouge asked.  
"I… suppose..." Tikal said hesitantly. "I mean, I never had much luck. So, maybe you can help him."  
"Great!" Rouge replied, a bit more enthusiastically than she meant to. "But, where does he live? I can't find anything that looks like it'd be a home for him."  
"I know where he lives." Tikal told her. "There's a hut nearby, not too far from here, in the jungle. Knuckles lives over there. This map should lead you right to him." she explained as she handed Rouge a map of the island, with a mark that looked a bit like Knuckles' head on the area where there was jungle. "It's pretty well-hidden, so keep your eyes peeled."  
"Ok. Thanks, Tikal." Rouge said as she went into the jungle to find Knuckles' house.  
"You're welcome." Tikal replied.

So, Rouge began her voyage into the thick vegetation to find Knuckles' house. As she did, Rouge was beginning to wonder why he doesn't hide the Master Emerald somewhere in here; she'd never be able to find it then. Regardless, she eventually came across an Aztec-like house. It was one-story, but it was quite wide and big, and it had a red roof. She examined the map, and confirmed that this was Knuckles' house. Nervously, she knocked on the door. She waited a few seconds, but heard no response. She knocked again, louder this time, but again, nothing. She was about to turn and leave before she heard the door open, revealing an agitated Knuckles.

"What do you want? I'm in no mood to play games." he said in an annoyed tone.  
"Well, ORIGINALLY, I had come to try and steal the Master Emerald, but I noticed you were gone. So I decided not to, since it's no fun without you there to try and stop me. Then. Tikal showed up, and I talked to her a bit, and she said you weren't feeling well. Saying your muscles were feeling tense. So, I decided to try and help you out by giving you a massage." Rouge explained.

Knuckles felt his muzzle heat up and become a shade of red that made his muzzle seem to blend in with his fur. The thought of Rouge massaging him made his stomach do flip-flops. He hated to admit it, but with as much as Rouge got under his skin, she also had a special place in his heart. He had grown to not only form respect for her and her determination, but also romantic feelings for her. It impressed him to see just how tough a woman Rouge was; she didn't need anyone to help her out, and she wouldn't take crap from anyone. And while she seems self-centered, and is at times, Knuckles has had the opportunity to see a good, kind side to her, like when she helped Cream take care of Cheese when he was sick, and said she'd want nothing in return, save for a healthy Chao and Cream's smile. The thought of that made his heart warm up. And last, but definitely not least, she was absolutely gorgeous. Her soft white fur, her teal green eyes, her sweet, kissable lips, her vivacious body, and her smooth, curvy legs. Everything about him could make any man drool. Knuckles mentally kicked himself when he thought of her lips. Partly because he wanted so badly to kiss them.

"Uh… sure." he finally said as he recovered from his initial shock. "I guess I could use one."  
Knuckles moved aside so that Rouge could enter. The inside of the house looked pretty nice too. The living room was wide, there was a few pictures hanging on the walls depicting life of the echidnas in ancient times, there were some plants in some fancy Aztec-looking pots, and on one side, there was a TV over the fireplace, as well as three couches and a coffee table in the middle. One couch could seat three, while the remaining two were loveseats. Why he had those, Rouge didn't know. But she had to admit that his house looked really nice.

"Well, I think I found my new interior designer." Rouge half-joked. Knuckles chuckled a bit before he sat down on the big couch.  
"So, what's sore?" Rouge asked.  
"Well, my back, shoulders, and feet are." Knuckles replied.  
"Fair enough." Rouge said as she took her gloves off. "Since I'm always giving you a hard time, I can do this for you. But, I may have to charge you."  
Knuckles just looked at her odd before shrugging his shouders. "Fair enough. But I have something to help with my feet, so you don't have to worry about them." he told her.  
"Ok." Rouge said with a smile. "Now, lay down on your stomach." she instructed.

Knuckles nodded his head and positioned himself on his stomach. Rouge left to find the bathroom, seeing if she could find some lotion. Soon, she found some and applied some to her hands. She then got on top of Knuckles and straddled him from behind. Once she had applied the lotion well enough, she began to rub Knuckles' back, hearing his body crack and pop. Knuckles grunted with each crack, not realizing how stiff he had become. But soon, his pain was replaced with relief. He let out a long, content sigh as Rouge continued to rub his back. Soon, she moved her hands up to his shoulders and began to massage them. More cracks were heard, and like last time, Knuckles' pain turned into relief as another long sigh escaped him. Soon, Rouge was done and placed a soft kiss on the back of his head. When she got off him, Knuckles sat up, feeling much better.

"So… how was it?" Rouge asked as she sat next to him.  
"MUCH better." Knuckles said, oblivious to the wide, goofy grin on his face.  
"Thanks. I've had to give some to Shadow a few times before." she said. "Now… as for payment… I ask that you repay the favor and give ME a massage." Knuckles looked over at her. "Hey, you give me quite a work-out too, and my muscles have been a bit sore recently."  
"… How about this; I give you a massage, and you don't try to steal the Master Emerald for… a week." Knuckles suggested. Rouge thought about it for a few seconds, and nodded her head. It seemed like a fair trade-off.  
"Fair enough." she said as she made Knuckles get up so she could lay on her stomach.

Knuckles blushed deeply, but he took his gloves off and put some lotion on his hands. Next, he straddled Rouge's back and began to massage her back, taking her wings into consideration. Like Knuckles before her, she grunted in pain with each crack and pop, but sighed in bliss as it turned into pleasure. Next, Knuckles began to massage her shoulders. He blushed more because now he could feel her soft, silky smooth skin. Rouge herself blushed when his hands came into contact with her skin, making the spot he touched spasm in delight. He continued to massage her shoulders, feeling her squirm a bit under him in delight and pleasure, and hearing her sigh blissfully.

Soon, he was done and got off her. Knuckles examined her face; she too had a big goofy grin and a dreamy look in her eyes. Knuckles found it so cute and funny at the same time.  
"I take it that you liked that?" Knuckles asked with an amused grin.  
"Mm hmm." Rouge sighed out. Knuckles chuckled a bit at her response.  
"Well, glad I was of help." he said.

From there, the two just talked for a while. Knuckles and Rouge hardly ever had days where they can be together and be civil with one another. But both were enjoying themselves. They exchanged funny stories, talked about work, and even talked about doing what they did today another time.

"Well, as fun as this has been, I gotta go." Rouge said as she stood up. "Thanks again for the lovely massage." she said sweetly as she kissed Knuckles on the lips. Her lips were soft and sweet, and she held it for a long time. When she pulled away, Knuckles could still taste her kiss. It too was sweet and left him wanting more. Before she had chance to leave, Knuckles grabbed her wrist soft enough to not hurt her, but strong enough to make her stop.  
"Do you have any… plans anytime soon?" Knuckles asked. Rouge could tell from the tone of his voice that the kiss left him wanting more. And to be honest, she wanted to kiss him some more too.  
"Well… not that I know off..." she said. "But… no, I can't stay. I must be going." she said, a slight taunt in her voice, hoping to see if she could get him to kiss her.  
"No way. No how." Knuckles said as he pulled her closer and looped an arm around her curvy waist. "After you gave me your massage, you had me give YOU one. Now you give me a long kiss like that, and you try and leave just like that?" he wasn't going to have this.  
"Knuckles… I doubt you could kiss me well enough." Rouge taunted, feeling she was close.  
"Oooohhh… so THAT'S how you want to play it huh?" Knuckles asked challengingly.  
"As a matter of fact, I-" Rouge began, but was cut off when she felt Knuckles pull her in and wrap his arms around her tightly and capture her lips in a deep, passionate kiss.

From there, Rouge felt her head spinning a bit. She wondered where THIS Knuckles came from. The Knuckles she knew would never do something like this. He'd be trying to beat her senseless and kick her off the island. But whether this was the real Knuckles or not, she was just gonna push that aside and kiss him back feverishly as her arms snaked around his neck.  
As for Knuckles, he too wondered where this side came from. But, he decided to not give it too much thought, and focus on his current task of exploring Rouge's mouth and lips, getting more and more of her sweet taste.  
As they were kissing, Rouge felt Knuckles tracing patterns on the exposed skin of her back. Rouge found his touch there to be a bit ticklish, and she let out a short, happy giggle against his lips. Knuckles smiled and kept one hand on her hip to pull her close to him. Soon, the hand that was tracing patterns on her back trailed up, tickling her a bit more before it went to the back of her head and began to lightly stroke her soft fur.

When the two knew they had to regain their breath, they broke away. Knuckles looked at her and smiled. Rouge returned his warm smile and placed one hand on the side of his face as she rested her forehead against his.  
"Now THAT was… new." Rouge breathed out.  
"But… was it good? Was… I good?" Knuckles asked.  
"Hmm… yes. Very good." Rouge replied. Knuckles smiled lightly and hugged her close, still softly stroking the back of her head.

Soon, their moment of intimacy was interrupted by the sound of a low rumbling. Both pulled away and looked down; it came from Rouge's stomach.  
"Something tells me you're hungry." Knuckles joked.  
"It would seem so." Rouge replied with a slight chuckle. Knuckles looked at his clock and saw that it was about time for lunch.  
"Well, since lunch time is close, I guess I'll fix us up something to eat." Knuckles said.  
"You will?" Rouge asked, shocked at his kindness.  
"Hey. You helped me out today. I'm just repaying the favor." Knuckles stated. "I hope whatever task you originally had can wait a little while longer."  
"Yyyyeeeaaahhhh… about that… I wasn't really in any kind of rush. I was just gonna tease you a bit and see if I could taunt you into kissing me." Rouge confessed.  
"… I kinda figured." Knuckles said. Rouge's eyes went wide; he's saying he knew she tricked him, and is ok with it!  
"You mean you knew?" she asked.  
"Yep." Knuckles said with a small smirk. "It didn't take long to piece everything together. But don't worry; it's ok."  
Rouge felt relief that he wasn't upset, and went to join him in the kitchen as he prepared some food for them.

The Master Emerald was gonna have to wait.

 *** So, how was I? I didn't make them TOO out-of-character, did I?  
However, I do see Rouge as the type who would be a teaser.  
Anyways, there's more coming from me, so if you enjoyed this, be sure to check out my other stories if you want. And with that, I bid y'all farewell. God bless ya!**


End file.
